Alone
by Scooterstripes
Summary: In this version, when Dylan saw Lily's message in the window , it wasn't just raining. In this version it was a full out storm. And in this version, when Dylan ran across to tell her those three words, he slipped. In this version, before he knew it, he was falling towards the violent water, arms reaching up, grasping for anything to stop his fall. But there was nothing there
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Dunc, have you seen Dylan?"

"Hmmm? Oh, he was on the way back to your house. Why?"

"I'm going to Target. Need an extra pair of hands, but if he's back there, I'll just take Rosie"

"Right. Hey, I'll phone the house, okay? Let him know where you two are"

"Okay. Thanks Dunc. Bye"

"Bye Benjamin"

*Click*

"Kay, speed dial two, I think it is"

*Beep*

"Pick up, pick up, pick up"

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

"Fine, fine, I'll just leave a message"

_/Hey Dylan, its Uncle Duncan here. If you get back to the house and no ones there, don't worry. You Dad and Rosie just went to Target, so they'll be home soon. See ya, tiger/_

_/Hey, Benjy, its Duncan here. Dylan wasn't home yet, so I left a message. See you soon/_

Dunc! Dunc! Can we please have some help?!"

"Coming, coming! Sheesh, its pouring out here!"

"Hurry up!"

"Man, how much did you buy?"

"It's grocery day okay? I have a teenage boy to feed"

"More like you have you to feed"

"Whatever. Dyl! Dyl! Come down here and help us!"

"I'll go get him"

"Okay. Rosie, come inside! You'll drown!"

"Dylan? Can you come help us?"

*knock*

*knock*

"Dylan?"

*creak*

"Benjamin, he's not here!"

"Dammit!"

"Here, I'll get the rest. Maybe he's in the attic"

"Thanks bro"

"Hey, Kelly? It's Benjamin"

"Oh, hey Benjamin!"

"Look, have you seen Dylan?"

"Not since he was with Duncan. Why?"

"We can't find him. Do you think he's outside in this?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't be. I'll ask Lily is she's seen him"

_**"Lily!"**_

"Sorry, Benjamin, she doesn't know"

"Oh God"

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. I'll get Robin and MacCready, and we'll go look for him, okay?"

"Okay. Okay. Thanks Kelly

"No problem"


	2. Author's Note

***Author's Note!**

**Okay, Guys, I know there isn't a bridge to go to Lily's house, okay!**

**But if there wasn't a bridge in this fic, the fic wouldn't exist.**

**So don't flame the bridge. It needs to be there!**

**And besides, what did it ever do to you?**

**Jeez.**

**Just let the bridge be.**

**Or not be, since it doesn't actually exist, but lets not go into that, okay?**

**Good.**


	3. Chapter 2

The rain was sloshing out of the sky harder and harder, and night was closing in. Robin found torches for them all to use, and they combed the zoo backwards and forwards, yelling against the wind.

"Dyl!"

"Dylan?"  
"Dylan!"

Benjamin put Rosie to bed and started to panic. It was 8 o'clock. It was dark outside and Dylan had been gone for hours.

"Kelly, I think we should call Search and Rescue. Or the Police. Or something"

She opened her mouth to assure him that Dylan was fine, then closed it in defeat. Benjamin was right.

"Okay. I'll call"  
"Thank you"

When the few emergency personnel that the city could spare came, they paired up with one of the zoo staff each. They widened the search area, to the river, the driveway, the neighbours property.

And then someone found him.

Washed up on the banks of the river, caught in a fallen tree, he looked like some more river debris. But as more men the fluorescent rain coats worked to bring him out, Benjamin saw his face.

Small and pale.

Eye's closed.

Nothing like the boy who gad drawn Spar in his prime.

The boy who loved pizza.

Who's eyes followed Lily everywhere.

His son.

Alone and small in that mass of fluro men. Now they lifted him out, dripping and limp. Strapped him to a stretcher. Called for and Ambulance to meet them. Grabbed oxygen masks and yelled things about vital signs and heart rate.

Carried him off into the rain.

Alone.

His son.

His Goddamn son.

And they held back when he tried to follow.

Wouldn't let him hold Dylan's hand.

Not even that.

The made him leave.

So he left.

He left his son.

All the while hoping, praying, _begging _that Dylan knew he didn't want to.

Hoping that he knew he would come back.

That he would be there.

That he wouldn't let him go.

***A/N**

**Awwwww… poor Benjamin.**

**And poor Dylan.**

**It's a little bit of a cliff hanger and I'm sorry, but I just can't write fast enough for my brain. And I'm half asleep. Sorry**

**Love,**

**Scooter**


	4. Chapter 3

The hospital was cold. But hospitals always seem to be cold. He supposed that people who were at hospital had more on their minds than the temperature. But he couldn't focus on the things in his mind. So he focused on the other things. The temperature. The different colours of the nurse's uniforms as they squeaked past him, sparing no glance for the man alone on the blue plastic chair. Doctors came in and out too; writing on clipboards, shadowed by people listening to their every word. Which he supposed they had to. Surely the things the doctors said were important. Especially in places like this.

"Mr Mee?"

He looked up. This Doctor was short. Short and surprisingly female. He supposed that was sexist, but he couldn't help himself. He had to think about her as a person, about her gender, her hair colour, anything. Just not about what she may say.

"Mr Mee?"  
"Sorry, yes?"

"My name is Dr Lucas. Are you Dylan's father"  
"Yes"

Yes, he was his Father. His Father. And Dylan was his son. So much in a little word. So much to understand, so much that people rarely appreciated what it truly meant. Son. Father. Family. It all meant so much.

"Well, Mr Mee, can you spare a moment for me?"

Like he had anything better to do.

"My office is right this way"

Inside, there were photos of another man. Taller, much taller. Useful when kissing. He tried to not think that. Inappropriate thoughts while your son is in hospital, Benjamin. He supposed it was a coping mechanism. A bad one, but still, the operative word was coping. He could cope.

"Now, Mr Mee, by the looks of it, your son was underwater for a long time. He inhaled a lot of water, but he is breathing fairly normally now. The next few days are crucial, because of the inhaled water, so we are keeping a close eye on him"  
"Secondary drowning"  
"Yes, yes"

She sounded surprised "I'm sorry, are you a Doctor?"  
"No."  
"Oh. Well, apart from that, he has a broken leg, a bad cut on his arm, and quite a bad knock to his head, so he probably has concussion. Whether its any more than that remains to be seen"

"Okay. Okay"  
He remembered to breath. That was an important thing to do. Top priority Benjamin. Breathe. Dylan is going to be okay. Right?

"But is he going to be okay?"

She sighed. Probably got that question a lot. He dreaded the answer.

"I hope so, Mr Mee, I hope so"

"Can I see him?"

"Certainly! Just this way"

Dylan was in intensive care. But that was okay. They were just keeping a close watch on him, just in case. That was what she said. Dylan would be alright. The door to his room was blue. No window in it, presumably there weren't many windows to the rooms in this part of the hospital. Privacy, and all that. God, he hated hospitals.

Dr Lucas opened the door. The light was off, and she turned it on after him  
"He's still asleep"  
And he was. Asleep on his back (which he never did). Benjamin felt something inside him melt into a puddle as he stared at his son. So small against the white and blue covers, frowning in his sleep, head turned to one side, machines beeping quietly alongside him. But nothing could hurt him now, because Daddy was here. Daddy's here now Dyl. You'll be alright. My love will keep you safe. I promise.

***A/N**

**For **Anonymous **– Thank you so much for reviewing! You made my day. This next bit is kind of a spoiler but no, Dylan will NOT die! Nogat tru! I don't think I could possibly write that. I'm the kind of person who has to rewrite movies in my head if the characters that I like die; otherwise I just can't live with myself. It makes me too sad. **

**For **Crazy Person – **no it's not real. In the movie its just like; la di da di dee ****_I love you! Yah! _****And that's it. (well, no, that's not really what it's like, but oh well)**

**The rest of you, review! **

**You have to feed the beast within me, or else she won't come out to play!  
Oh wow, that sounded weird.**

**Lets move on.**

**Sheesh.**


	5. Chapter 4

Dylan was dreaming. At least, he thought he was dreaming. Somewhere, he could feel his Dad holding his hand. He didn't know how he knew it was his Dad, especially because his Dad had never held his hand before, but it was him. He could feel his fingers griping on tightly, as he floated in a sea of grey liquid. Vaguely, he thought that he should be drowning, because he wasn't breathing, and his body was submerged. But he was breathing, he could see the bubbles. They floated around him, and gushed out of his mouth. He could hear a beep in the distance, slow and steady. It was calming, like listening to a clock ticking. Because of it, he knew that somewhere things were happening. It was only him in this sea of grey. He was glad that no one else had to be here. Rosie would probably be scared. He hated it when she was scared.

But wait, why would she be scared? Nothing bad had happened had it? He couldn't remember. Why couldn't he remember? He tried to think about what had just happened. He was outside. He knew that. Outside, and then Lily. Something about Lily. Something that made him run towards her house. What for? Oh. To tell her that he loved her. Well, that was true. So why was he here? What happened after he ran? He couldn't remember. He was just running and running, and then something happened and all he could remember was the water. Water. Everywhere. Why is there so much water?_ Dad? Rosie? Lily? Anyone?  
_  
But there was no one there. Only water. Everywhere. Grey, and stretching on and on into the distance. It seemed to tighten on his chest, and suddenly felt thicker. The bubbles stopped. He couldn't breathe. The water was crushing him, squeezing him tight. Drowning. That was what this was called. Drowning. He was drowning. He felt the fingers that held his tighten, and words rushed hazily past him. The beeping got louder, and the words got faster and faster. _Dad?_ The fingers that held his, loosened, and then there were more touches, people trying to get him out. But he couldn't swim. The water was too heavy and he was sinking faster.

They tried to stop him, but he was drowning. Drowning.

Down

Down

Down.

The water turned from grey to black and then it wasn't water any more, it was blood. Blood everywhere. He felt it in the back of his throat, and shut his eyes tightly. No matter how much he thrashed, he just kept sinking. And the blood water got thicker and thicker. Wasn't there a saying about that? About blood being thick? He couldn't remember it.

_Dad?_

_Please?_

_Dad?_

_I need you._

And then the fingers that held his were back and he heard someone whisper in his ear

"I've got you Dylan"

_Dad?_

"I'm here. You can come out. You can wake up. I'm holding on to you. And I won't let you go"

_I'm sinking Dad_

"I won't let you go, Dyl. I promise."

_Okay._

And he woke up. And he was floating again, and his Dad was floating too, holding his hand and smiling.

*** A/N**

**Sorry for the wait everyone!**

**I had to go down to the big city so we could buy my sister a wedding dress and bridesmaid's dresses for me and my other sister. Whew! I tell you, I started ****_dreaming _****about wedding dresses! I kid you not. It was horrific. **

**Anywho, I did finally manage to get this up – even though, after I got home, there was an EARTHQUAKE! and my lamp smashed. :-(**

**Don't worry, the next chapter will include Awake Dylan, and I have a really cute conversation between him and his Dad ready. Be prepared for fluff!**

**As always, Review please!**

**To all you **Anonymous **reviewers (who by the way can't spell anonymous right) thank you so much for your reviews. After a very stressful few days, you made my week! And yes, Lily, Rosie, Kelly, and everyone else know that Dylan is in hospital. Why wouldn't they?**

**Love from Scooter ; - ) **


	6. Chapter 5

***A/N**

**I realised that I don't have a disclaimer for this story so by the way, I don't own ****_We Bought a Zoo _****or any of the characters and I am gaining no profit or any form of financial gain from this (which is sad). The only thing I own is the bridge. But since it doesn't actually exist, I don't own that either. : (**

Benjamin held Dylan's hand tightly. He had been coming in and out of consciousness the whole day, and he shifted underneath the blankets, and mumbled underneath his breath. Benjamin leaned forward.

"Dyl?"

He didn't respond and Benjamin sighed and leant back. Doctor Lucas had assured him that Dylan would wake up soon, in fact, had told him it would probably be today. But after the scare in the morning, she had just side stepped all his questions, and told him that Dylan would be fine.

Of course he would be fine. He would make sure of it.

He just wanted Dylan to wake up. To stop looking so small against the covers, and to stop trying to move, before wincing in his sleep, because he hurt too much.  
He wanted him to wake up and squeeze his hand and say something.

Anything.

And then Benjamin would say _I love you._

Just so Dylan knew, and would never forget.

Just like Benjamin would never forget the way Dylan's face looked when he smiled, just like he would never forget his voice, or his laugh, or his cry.

And just like he would never forget the way he thrashed against his sheets this morning, or the way the nurses yelled for Doctors, or the way the monitors surrounding him beeped and flashed widely, begging for attention. Or the way, his son's hand tightened on his when he whispered in his ear and told him everything was going to be alright.

He sighed, and shifted in his seat. Then straightened up. Was it his imagination, or had Dylan's hand moved? Tightened?

"Dylan?"

Yes. This time he definitely moved.

"Dyl?"  
His hands twitched against Benjamin's fingers, and his eyelids fluttered.

"Dad?"  
"Dyl?"  
"Hurts."  
"Where?"  
Surreptitiously, he pressed the call button. Dylan tried to open his eyes, and unconsciously groaned. Benjamin held his hand tighter

"Hey, hey, it's alright. It's okay. Can you tell me where it hurts? Dyl?"

He shook his head, and Benjamin pressed his hand against his cheek

"Okay. It's alright. It's alright. Just stay still, kay? Everything's going to be fine."

Doctor Lucas came in, clipboard in hand, pen behind her ear.

"Hey. Nurse's said that you called?"

He nodded "He's awake"

She dropped the clipboard. She was probably expecting him to want to order a coffee or something. Not happening today. She opened the door and yelled down the corridor.

"Simon! Get in here, and bring Lucy!"

She shut it again and took the pen out from behind her ear  
"Dylan? Can you hear me?"

His head moved slightly, and he winced.

"Okay. Squeeze your Dad's hand for yes, okay?"

He squeezed and Benjamin nodded at her. The door opened again and two nurses rushed in, more clipboards in their hands. Someone should make saying about that. An army marches on its stomach, and a hospital runs on clipboards. Clipboards and pens and hands free blue-tooth headsets. Definitely.

The male nurse went around the other side of the bed, and beeped buttons on some machines. He looked like he was doing something important. Probably was. The female nurse stood behind Doctor Lucas as she crouched down next to Dylan.

"Hey, Dylan, my name's Doctor Lucas. Can you open your eyes for me?"

His eyelids opened a slit, and he squinted at the light. She wrote on her clipboard and smiled at him.

"Well done. Now, Dylan, is the light hurting your eyes?"  
He squeezed Benjamin's hand and he turned to her.

"He said yes"

"Okay"

She wrote more on her clipboard.

"Good. Now, Dylan can you remember what happened?"

He shifted in his bed.

"No. Just water"

His voice was scratchy, and he coughed. Benjamin noticed his chest rising and falling quickly, and rubbed his thumb across his hand, in a gesture of _it's alright. _Dylan smiled at him, and his breathing slowed down. Doctor Lucas noticed that too, and the way he kept his eyes closed against the lights in his room. She wrote on the clipboard again, and rose.

"Thank you Dylan. One more question, are you tired?"  
He nodded and she nodded as well, as though she was expecting that.

"Okay. One squeeze for tired but okay, two squeezes for I just want to go to sleep so can you go away"

Benjamin smiled, and felt Dylan's squeezes.

"Two"

"Okay"  
She wrote some more, then tucked the pen behind her ear again.

"Thank you Dylan. Mr Mee, can I speak to you in my office?"

***A/N**

**OOOHHHH CLIFFHANGER!**

**Ha! I'm evil.**

**And I won't write anymore, because I have decided to make a VOTE**

**You guys need to review and tell me where you want to go with this fic. **

**Should Dylan be alright, and fine, and after a couple of days in hospital, go home and be happy and start drawing sunflowers on his bedroom walls? (If anyone chooses that, I'll be really surprised)**

**Or should he be MORTALLY WOUNDED (sorry, there's the geek in me) and have to be kept in hospital and have lots of machines and there will be crying and swearing and other angst, fluff and a hurt Dylan? **

**Or should it be more mental, and he'll be scared of water, or bridges, or storms, or something? (that one would actually be quite cute, I can see it already) **

**Or a combination? **

**Or a different one that comes from YOUR brain and is equally delightful?**

**Or none, and should I crawl back to my room and never come out?**

**Hopefully not the last one.**

**BUT SERIOUSLY GUYS THIS IS A SERIOUS VOTE/POLL/ THING!**

**It is really a cunning ploy for you guys to review. If you don't review and also tell me what you want, I won't write anymore. So there.**

**So this means you have to review!**

**Because I wrote that last chapter and this one while earthquake shook the computer and my cat got scared by them she started chewing on my leg.**

**And I got no reviews! : (apart from one – which I thank **Anonymous **for)**

**So review!  
Now!**

**Also, thank you to **GemmaHPJ **for following and favouriting this story! Everyone else, that's how you do it! Thanks Gemma. Apart from my twin, you are my new favourite person! Hehe ; )**

**PS: Thanks to **anonymous** for the spell check! I changed it now! ;-)**


	7. Chapter 6

**(If I owned this movie, I wouldn't have to write fan fiction about it, because all of this would be in the movie. So there.)**

***A/N I did it guys! Finally! Special thanks to **StripedFuzzySocks **who inspired me! (I don't know why, her review just did) **

**More thanks, apologies and me at the bottom of the page!**

Doctor Lucas was silent. She chipped away at her nail polish, refusing to look at him, leaving him to stew in her sticky blue chair. He could see her thinking about what she was going to say. How she was going to break the news. He didn't know what the news was, but god damn it, he knew there was news. He knew, knew to the very core of his fearful, fearful heat that something was wrong.

And she was sitting there _rehearsing._

Benjamin had never been good at following scripts. Plans. Staying within the boundaries. Keeping to the careful little social protocols that humanity invented for itself when it all became too much. He hated them. Hated tip toeing around the subject because it was awkward. Impolite. Private.

So he broke the rules. Interrupted people. Said what needed to be said, when it needed to be said, to whoever needed to hear it.

But he'd never been as scared of doing it as he was now.

"What's wrong?"

She stopped chipping, and looked up.

"Sorry?"

"What's wrong?"  
She opened and closed her mouth uncertainly. He could tell she wanted to continue. To pretend that she didn't understand, gain more time, think of ways to be gentle. Ways to make it all seem all right.

But he refused to play that game. Stared right back at her, looked into her eyes and forced her to spit whole thing out.

**(A/N Did you know that I almost failed my Social Sciences test, because I used the word 'force'? Isn't that stupid? Right, you're reading. Sorry)**

"Well Mr Mee, our original diagnosis seems to be correct"

"Concussion?"  
"Yes. But we need to take a few scans to double check some things. Probably as soon as possi –"

He interrupted impatiently. "Can you just say it straight to my face?!"  
She looked uncertain, but his eyes told her not to sugar coat anything.

"By the looks of it, it's quite a bad concussion." She started listing things off on her fingers "Sensitivity to light, tired all the time, having trouble remembering what happened… We need to at least do a CT scan, to check that there's no bleeding or internal damage. Ism sorry Mr Mee."

He nodded at her and stood up.

"Well, you start getting all that ready; and I'll be waiting in Dylan's room."

The door shut behind him with a finality that scared him, and he almost ran down the corridor. Inside Dylan's room, someone had turned off the light. Dylan was still lying on his back, and the machinery beside him still glowed and beeped softly. Benjamin squeezed his hand gently as he sat down in another blue chair by the side of the bed.

And as he sat there, all he could think of were all of the times he'd ignored him. Told him off. Yelled at him. Every single time that he had done anything that hurt Dylan. And as he sat there, he wondered if it was all his fault. Of course he knew that nothing he had ever done could have caused this. He'd seen enough bereavement pamphlets in doctor's offices and read enough children's books to Rosie to know that. But he sure as hell knew that it wasn't Dylan's fault. And he was the only one left to blame.

A hand touched his shoulder lightly, and then shook him.

"Mr Mee? Mr Mee?"

The lights had been turned on, and the door was open. Dr Lucas stood over him, holding another clipboard.

"We're just taking Dylan now, to have the scan"

He blinked hard. Stupid body. Always falling asleep at inopportune moments.

"Right, right"

He got up and looked down at her. Hmm. A bit of re-growth in there. She turned and led him down the hall. Dylan was half awake, and he winced as the bed jolted. When he saw Benjamin he smiled and tried to pretend that he hadn't. Benjamin smiled back, and pretended he hadn't seen. The room were they stopped had warning signs stuck all over it, like a kid had gone crazy with a sticker book.

_Warning, Magnetic Field in Action_

_Authorised Personal only. _

The actual scanner looked like some kind of torture device, and Benjamin tried not to look nervous as they manoeuvred Dylan onto it. Doctor Lucas turned to shut the door on him, and he managed to catch one last glimpse of Dylan as he was strapped to the bed. He caught his eye, and managed to smile.

You'll be alright, Dyl. Don't worry.

***A/N**

**Well, there we go! Finally!**

**I'm sorry this took so long everyone, but I was away and then I actually ended up in hospital (which had really expensive WiFi by the way). You would think that actually being in a hospital would have helped, but this chapter was actually really hard to write. And when I finally did finish it, we went over our Internet data-cap! Arghhh.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you are awesome!**

Anonymous, **You were the first reviewer, so you are double awesome!**

Crazy Person, **I thought I made that clear, it's when Dylan thought he was drowning. He like, had a nightmare or something, and stuff. If you know what I mean. I can't really explain it. ; P**

Story Ideas, **Oopps, he wasn't underwater for hours! I know that people can't survive that. **

Fan, **Me too! I love Benjamin and Dylan as a Father and Son thingie! If I was a dude, I would wish my Dad was like this!**

Overlord, **Ummm, sorry, but that's not going to happen. Thanks for telling me though! **

Anonymous, **Awww! Thanks so much!**

Mrr, **Okeydokey.**

Anonymous, **Don't worry, most of that will happen! Maybe a tiny bit of the last one, but not much sorry, **StripedFuzzySocks.

**All you non anonymous reviewers, I replied privately otherwise there would have been too many sorry. **

**Enjoy!**


	8. Chapter 7

**(Still don't own it)**

***A/N Two chapters in one day! I think this is just me being guilty for taking so long on the last one. It is quite short, but I felt like I needed to include Rosie, and how she must feel. Oh well. Enjoy!**

Rosie was always good. After all, Daddy was usually nice. And she didn't really like being bad. It gave her a funny feeling inside. Being good was much more fun. You could laugh with your Daddy, and your teachers liked you, and you had lots of friends. She supposed that was why Dylan was sad lots. He was bad lots, so Daddy never laughed with him, and his teachers all thought there was something wrong with him. And his friends weren't very nice to him.

But he was only bad because he thought that was how he was meant to be. She knew that he really wasn't bad. After all, he liked Lily, and she was nice. And when he was good, and happy, he was really nice. He just hid it.

She didn't know why.

It seemed a silly thing to do, but Dylan was silly a lot of the time.

Daddy said it was because he didn't think, but Rosie thought that was just how he was.

Maybe that was why he fell in the river. Cause he was being silly. But she didn't think so. It didn't seem like a silly thing to do. No one would do that on purpose. And if he was just being silly, then Kelly wouldn't look so upset, and Lily wouldn't have cried. Daddy had cried too. Rosie had never seen him cry for real before. Not even when Dylan got expelled, or when he said he hated Daddy.

That scared her. If none of those things had made Daddy cry, then it must be something really bad this time.

But no one would tell her.

They said everything was fine, and not to worry.

But Daddy wasn't there to tuck her in, and tickle her if she made a joke.

And Dylan wasn't there to smile at her if he thought Daddy wasn't looking.

And that night she couldn't get to sleep. She tried reading a bed time story, and singing a bed time song.

But no one was there to do it with her.

And she couldn't do it by herself.

And she couldn't catch Mommy's spirit without them either.

***A/N **

**Awwwww… She's so cute!**

**Woohoo! **Anonymous! **First reviewer! And it only took you, like, a few hours! Amazing!**

**All you others, you got two for the price of one. Lucky you**

**And you should all know that there isn't going to be much Lily in this fic. Mostly because, well, *coughs* **_**I just don't like her!**_

**And it's not just because she gets Dylan and I don't! I just don't like her. It might be the actor, it might be her personality, I don't know! I just don't like her, so I don't write her, because when I do, she well, well she turns into a bitch. Or acts like she's 7. **

**So there will be no DylanxLily. Sorry**

**Wait. What do you even call that? Lilan? Dyly? Ha.**


	9. Authors Note 2

Sorry for not uploading guys, but this is going to take some time.  
We've had lots more Earthquakes, my computer broke and pretty much everything got fucked up. And today is the one year anniversary of my Mum's death.

I'm sorry, but I could have uploaded a really shit chapter, but I would have felt bad. So I didn't. Its a work in progress, and I will get it done, I just have writers block. Sorry.

Can someone please cheer me up?

Love from Scooter


	10. Chapter 8

**(Ha! I see you there, behind the neighbour's magnolia tree! Stop stalking me! I don't own ****_We Bought A Zoo_****! And if I did, I would have my security on you!)**

***A/N **StripedFuzzySocks **- you are absolutely amazing. I DID IT! WOOHOO!**

Grade III concussion was what they called it. He didn't know how they decided, but he had read enough Wikipedia to know that it was the worst grade.

To be fair, they had tried to explain it to him. And they probably knew more than Wikipedia. But it was all a bit of a blur and he couldn't remember what they had said.

Vaguely, in a small corner of his mind, he figured that it was probably night. That same corner of his mind informed him that he was tired, but he told it to shut up and let him get on with doing what he needed to do.

Things he needed to do like hold Dylan's hand, and whisper in his ear. Whispering anything, everything. Just as long as he knew that Daddy was here.

Dylan was staying in Intensive Care. Benjamin's hard blue chair had been upgraded to a squeaky black recliner that he could sleep on. The lights stayed off, and the curtains stayed closed. And Dylan kept his eyes shut, hardly even acknowledging his presence. Doctor Lucas said it was because of all the meds. He wasn't really aware of his surroundings. She said he probably felt like he was sleeping. Just out of it. Of course, she also told him to talk to Dylan because he could probably hear him. Goddamn conflicting messages.

When Katherine had been in hospital he couldn't remember it being this hard. It had never hurt this much to see her lying asleep in one of these flat, white beds. But maybe that was because whenever she had been in hospital, he had known that there was nothing he could have done. Now, now he wasn't so sure. He had fought with Dylan, yelled at him, never listened to him, and maybe if he had, Dylan wouldn't be lying there looking so damn _small. _  
As he stared at his son, the hand that he held tightly squeezed back. Squeezed. Yes, it definitely squeezed. Not his imagination, not wishful thinking, it squeezed back. And again. Benjamin leant forward.

"Dyl?"

He squeezed again, and gradually opened his eyes.

"Dad?"

"Yeah. It's Dad."

"Hey"

Benjamin almost cried. His voice was croaky, and his eyes squinty, but to Benjamin, Dylan had never looked more beautiful.

"How are you feeling?"  
He grunted, and gave him a look.

"That bad, huh?"

"No"

"No?"  
"I can't feel a thing. I think I'm high. Is that clock green?"

Benjamin laughed. "Yeah. Fluorescent."

"Okay."

He shut his eyes again, and Benjamin contented himself with rubbing his hand. Up and down, and up and down. Comfort, in such a small routine as up and down. His eyes opened again.

"River?"  
"What?"  
"Was I in the river?"  
"Yeah"

Was it just Benjamin, or did he shiver slightly? And was it just him, or did his face pale and his hand tighten?

"Dyl? What's wrong?"  
"Daddy, I'm scared"

His voice was small, and he partially curled over onto his side. He kept his eyes closed, and Benjamin could see his little 5 year old son in his face, hugging a bleeding knee and crying on the concrete.

"Oh Dyl"

He got off the chair, and sat down on the bed, with his arm around Dylan's shoulders.

"It's all right to be scared. It was scary. But you are brave and you don't have to be scared of anything"

"But I am scared. Not brave"

You are brave. It's just that you've forgotten for a wee while. Don't worry, soon you'll remember again. For now, I'll be brave enough for both of us."

"Can you?"

"I can"

***A/N He. Like how I incorporated Wikipedia into there? Yeah.**

**I know Dylan seemed a little random in this chapter, but trust me, when you're high on morphine and all the other shit that they pump in you at hospitals, you do tend to make comments about clocks and start saying Daddy. True story.**

**Thank you to **StripedFuzzySocks **for her help; I have now copy-pasted that onto a word document that is constantly open on my computer. ; )**

**Thanks to everyone else who reviewed as well, you rock!**

**Also, what do you think about the pace of this story? Too fast? Too slow? **

**Love from Scooter**


	11. Chapter 9

**(Alright, alright, you guys guessed. I actually do own ****_We Bought A Zoo. _****I've been tricking you all along. My name is Geoff, too. How did you know?)**

He managed to stay awake for another 5 hours. After that, he did fall asleep, but only because they put some sedative in his IV. Now, every thing was slightly fuzzy around the edges, but Dylan didn't mind. In fact, it was quite nice. Things were less sharp and they hurt less. And the fuzziness wasn't complete. He lay in his bed with his eyes half closed, pretending to be asleep. People kept coming in and out and poking him, talking to him and pressing buttons on machines.

Dad had gone to get Rosie. Hopefully to also get a coffee. He looked more tired than Dylan felt. The hugging was nice though. Unusual, but much nicer than normal. It gave Dylan a different kind of fuzziness. One inside. Which sounded cheesy, and he would never admit it, but it was true.

He must have drifted off, because someone was shaking him and when he opened his eyes, the room was darker than before.

It was Dad. Rosie was behind him, and he blinked several times to wake up.

"Hey Rose"

She smiled.  
"Oh, hi! I was scared that you wouldn't say hi to me, 'coz Daddy said that you mightn't, but y'did"

He laughed.

"Yeah, I did"  
She jumped up on the bed, next to his legs, and looked at him seriously.

"Dylan, are you hurt really bad?"  
He shook his head.

"No. I'm fine, Rose"

"You're not going to die like Mommy?"  
He wrapped his arms around the top of her shoulders and squeezed.

"Of course I'm not"

'Good. I'm glad"

"Well, I'm glad too!"  
She laughed and snuggled into his chest. His arm throbbed, but he ignored it and pressed his check against her head. Dad sat down in the chair next to the bed, and Rosie smiled at the both, and then closed her eyes.

Then she fell asleep.

And he was in a really awkward position.

Which kind of hurt.

Oh well.

Dad laughed at his expression, and he shifted slightly under her weight. That was better. Dad leaned forward.

'So? How are you feeling?"  
"Fine"  
"Really?"  
He looked sceptically, but Dylan nodded.

"Yeah. Really. I fell just like normal."

He nodded.

"Dad?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What's the date?"  
"It's the seventh"

"The seventh? Seven seven?"  
"Yeah"  
"Why the hell are you here?!"

"Because you're in hospital"  
"What about opening day?"  
"Kelly said she would take care of it"

Dylan opened his mouth to protest, but the door opened, and Doctor Lucas smiled in at them. Dad nodded at her, and she stepped inside.

"Hello, Dylan"  
"Hey."

"Now, I've been receiving reports from your nurses, and they are all really happy with your performance!"  
"Okaay…"

"And we were all wondering, would you like to walk?"

He sat up. Rosie half fell of the bed, and woke up abruptly. He noticed, but all of his focus was on Dr Lucas.

"Are you kidding? Of course I would!"  
She smiled, and he turned to Dad before anyone could say anything.

"And that is really good timing, because I can stay here and do walking and stuff, and Dad can go open the zoo"

"Dyl…"

"Dad, I am not open to negotiation on this one"  
"Are you sure?"  
"Sure. Go open the zoo, Dad"

"Okay."

He left with Rosie on his shoulders, waving behind him. Dylan yelled after them.  
"Say hi to Kelly for me!"  
Dad gave him a thumbs up in acknowledgement, and then there were nurses in is room, and oh God, he was going to walk.

He wriggled to edge of the bed. Ignoring the hand the nurse offered him, he stood up slowly. His legs shook, but he was standing. The nurse smiled.

"Good, Dylan. Just take it easy. We'll just do a few steps, okay?"

Dylan nodded. She slipped his arm over her shoulder.

"Just in case. Now, left foot first"

One step. Wow, that felt good. You never knew how great walking was, until you spent too much time without doing it.

Then his right foot. Two steps. He didn't wait for her to say anything, just took a third. And a forth. Without knowing it, his face slipped into a grin. Damn!

Double double double damn!

What was that? 6 damns?  
The nurse laughed at his expression.

"Feels good, huh?"  
He nodded hard, and she laughed again.

"Awesome. I'm going to let go, and you can go by yourself! Just walk around the room okay?"

"Okay!"  
She let go, and he walked around his bed. It felt like forever, but he got there eventually. She clapped.

"Nice! I'll go see if your Dad is back."  
He stopped her at the door.

"Um, can I… Can I, well…"  
"What?"  
"Can I go piss?"  
There was a bathroom that led of this room. He had seen in when Dad had gone in, with big white lettering on the door.

She laughed again.  
"Sure. If you need, there's a rail in there that you can hold on to"  
She left, and he opened the door cautiously. Inside, he peed, and that was another thing so good to finally do. There was no mirror, and secretly Dylan was glad. He could feel where his face was bruised and swollen, and he figured it probably looked worse than it felt. By the sink, he cleared his throat as he turned the tap on. Water sloshed out, and he froze. Something in his mind flinched away from the sound, and he turned the tap off again.

His hands were shaking.

Why were they shaking?

Stop it, Dylan, stop it.

His legs felt shaky again, as well, and he grabbed the rail behind him, as he slid down the wall.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't, he couldn't.

Why was it so hard to breathe?

Breathe, Dylan, breathe.

His chest hurt, and it was hot in here.

But it wasn't hot, because just before he had been cold.

Hadn't he?

No.

No, it must be hot.

It was hot, and he was tired and he hadn't walked for ages, that was all.

Eventually, he breathed in, long and shaky.

In, out.

In, out.

Easy.

In and out. Breathing. He could do that. He could. It was simple.

Someone pounded on the door.

"Dylan? Dyl?"

It was Dad.

"Dyl!"

He got up.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm coming"

He heard the relief clear in Dad's voice.

"Oh, okay"

He unlocked the door, and smiled at his Dad, like there was nothing wrong at all.

And there wasn't

Nope.

He smiled, and Dad smiled, and doctors smiled and said he could probably go home tomorrow. He said he was looking forward to it, and Dad smiled again.

He didn't wash his hands.

**(Seriously though guys, I don't own it. Don't sue me)**

***A/N That's right! Ha, you all thought he was going to be fine now! And looked what happened! I'm brilliant! There is so much foreshadowing in his chapter, I almost cried! (Okay, not really)**

**And, stop it. I swear none of you are reviewing. I know this because I looked at the traffic stats. Yeah, that's right, it's official, there are statistics. Bam. There is one viewer from Sweden, one from Hong Kong, one from Indonesian, one from Belgium, one from Italy, one from the UAE, and heaps from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and the USA. And how many reviews do I get? For eight chapters? 33. **

**Now I'm depressed. So review!**

**And in that review that you are totally going to write now, tell me whose POV the next chapter should be in, kay?**

**(Even though this story is kind of in 2****nd**** person, but you know what I mean)**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N This is so fucking hard to write**

Before they let Dylan go home, he had to talk to everyone.

People with blue uniforms, people with pink ones, and some just wearing normal clothes

They all wanted to know if he was 'okay'.

Of course he was okay. There was nothing wrong with him. Daddy had promised her. And after all, now he was coming out of the hospital, so of course he was okay. Sometimes, grown ups were really stupid.

They talked to Daddy as well.

And he came out with a frown resting on his forehead, and a worried glance at Dylan. Though Daddy had always had a habit of looking at Dylan like that. Cause Dylan was always worrying everyone.

She didn't know what they told him, but soon it didn't matter because Dylan was in the car, and now he was wearing his own clothes, and Dad played music she could sing along to.

They were going home.

And Dylan was coming with them

Inside his room, they had put everything away. The tiny space was clean, and she had put presents all over his bed. There was a chocolate bar, a pencil, an Easter egg, and lots of the little baby bunches of flowers, that she picked herself (though maybe Kelly helped a little)

When he went in she noticed that he was frowning, but she supposed that he must be wondering who had done it all. Daddy said it was a surprise, but he was in there now, so she was sure she could tell him.

"It was me! Do you like it?"

He almost fell over his bed, and she giggled. She must have been really sneaky and quiet without noticing, and he hadn't heard her.

"Jesus Rose!"

"You're not meant to say that in front of me"

He looked guilty, but she shrugged

"But its okay, because you say it all the time anyway, and Dad is being nice to you, so he probably won't mind"

He nodded, and she bowled on

"I did it ALL! Do you like it? Do you?"

He laughed and shooed her out "I love it Rose. You should do it as your job"

"When I'm grown up?"  
"When you're grown up"

"Cool!"

She bounced up and down at the thought. That would be cool! And if it was her job, she would get paid, and then she would be able to buy a ballerina skirt. She wanted a purple one.

"Do you think I could get one?"  
But Dylan's door was shut already, and he didn't hear her. She hoped he was okay. He didn't look like he was okay, cause his face was different. But Daddy could look after him. Right?

Downstairs, Daddy was trying to make dinner. Not lasagne, just some weird reheated food Kelly had bought. Rosie had thought it was animal food, but Daddy said it was for them.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

He stopped stirring to look at her

"I don't think Dylan wants dinner"  
"Why not?"

"He's in his room"

He nodded.

"He must be tired, that's all Rose"  
"Still?"  
"He was very sick, so he needs to rest lots before he gets better"

"But he will get better"  
"Of course! He'll be fine"  
He said it so hard, like he was wishing, that she wondered if it was true, but even if it wasn't, she would help him get better.

Maybe when she grew up she should be a nurse.

***Break***

Later, when Benjamin went into Dylan's room, he was curled up under all of the bed covers. Benjamin kissed him on the forehead and left, closing the door behind him.

But he wasn't asleep

He was too scared to fall asleep. He didn't know why, it was childish and stupid, but he couldn't. It wasn't because he was scared of sleeping or anything.

And anyway, he wasn't scared of anything.

That would be stupid.

He just obviously wasn't used to sleeping in his own bed.

Yeah that was it.

He curled up harder, and squeezed his eyes so tight that when he finally did fall asleep (cause he did, of course, he was fine) they hurt to open in the morning. But he did fall asleep, and he ate breakfast in the morning, and he was fine.

But, later still, Dad asked him to go get Kelly from the barn, and then

Then

Shit.

***A/N Cliff hanger!**

**Thanks to **heymitchie **for generally being an awesome person, but Lily? Yeah no.**

Crazy person – **you're back! Yay! Thanks for reviewing**

StripedFuzySocks **thanks as always**

Anonymous **here is Rosie for you**


	13. Chapter 11

**Still not mine, sadly**

It was raining.

That wasn't a big deal; there had just been a storm.

But in the house, it just sounded like tapping on the roof. Outside, the front yard was a pool of mud and leaves, and the water was everywhere. It bounced off his hair, his hands, and soaked through his t-shirt.

Wet.

So fucking wet.

He couldn't remember what he was meant to be doing.

And it was so cold out here, as though the rain was frozen.

But it wasn't frozen, cause it was wet, and he could feel it dripping.

Dripping

Sliding down

Cold against his skin

Wet

There was a bucket in his hands.

For Kelly?

Then it was on the ground,

And he was on the ground

Curled up, trying

trying to get away from all that goddamn _wet._

He couldn't breath, and it was too cold and

Dad

Dad

Dad!

Distantly, time passed. Someone was shaking him, then picking him up, and shaking harder

"Dylan? Dylan!"  
They shook him again. He tried to shrug out of their grip, but he couldn't, cause he couldn't breathe, and moving was too hard.

Breathe

Breathe

Breathe

Shit, he couldn't

"Dylan? Dylan can you hear me?"

They picked him up more, and wrapped their arms around him, tight and strong.

"Just breathe Dylan, just breathe. Breathe"

They didn't understand that he couldn't. He tried, oh God he tried, but it hurt it hurt. And it was so wet, and the wet the wet the wet

He was shaking

His chest was tight, and as he tried to breathe, everything seemed to hurt, and oh, he was shaking so hard, and

"Breathe! Breathe, shit shit shit"  
He didn't know who it was. And he wished he did, cause their arms were strong, and for once he felt like something was holding him together against the world.

They were holding him

Holding him, and he couldn't feel the rain anymore, and the wet was gone.

Gone.

Dry

He took a shaky breath.

Breathe.

He could breathe.

Another breath.

"Dylan? Hey, you're alright. You're alright"  
He was alright.

He could believe it, when someone else told him. That he was going to be fine. All right. Normal.

Another breath.

The shaking almost stopped, but he couldn't open his eyes. No.

"Dylan?"

Too hard. Too hard.

"Look at me, Dyl. Come on"

Someone whimpered, then he realised that it was him. The shaking almost started again, but he clenched his fists and kept them tight. Peaked out from behind his eyelids, and stared at the lines of red made by his fingernails against soft skin.

They held him here, lines fastening him to the ground.

Red and stark, solid.

More solid than the rain sliding down his legs.

More solid than the pain in his chest, where the memory of no breath lies.

More solid than the way his arms were shaking, no matter how hard he tried.

But not as solid as the way arms were wrapped around him, as they picked him up and carried him into the house, where more arms held him and squeezed him and held him tight.

That was a kind of solid that made him feel whole again.

Away from the rain and the wet and the hurt.

Whole and

Loved and

Safe and

Alright.

***A/N So yeah.**

**Well, I had a panic attack at school today, so I wrote this off that. And it was pretty shit.**

**Who do you think the person is? I'll give you a hint….**

**It's a guy.**

**Thanks to **Anonymous. **Ben will be along soon, don't worry**

StripedFuzySocks **you make me feel awesome. Thanks so much ; )**

**Also, follow me on twitter! I'm StripyAlice**


	14. Chapter 12

***A/N I'm back! Anonymous people, I'm sorry for not being able to tell you I was going away, but I did. So I couldn't update this, but now I can! Here it is!**

He fell asleep.

Though, really, Benjamin had no idea if he was asleep, or passed out, or still awake.

Robin said he was probably asleep, cause he must be exhausted.

And Benjamin tried to pretend that Robin was an expert, and that he knew.

Because then he could pretend that someone here knew all about it, and they could help, and do the right things.

He really didn't want to take Dylan to the hospital.

He probably needed to.

But he would wait.

He'd wait until Dylan woke up and talked – said something, anything.

And then, maybe he would take him.

Maybe.

After all, maybe Dylan would be fine.

It was a small maybe, but Benjamin held onto it as tight as he could let himself, as he watched his son sleep.

***break***

Truthfully speaking, Robin was scared.

And he had no idea what he was doing.

All he knew that Dylan was scared too. Of what, he didn't really know, but he figured he would find out.

And he knew that Benjamin was scared too. Of losing his son. Of having to watch his son be scared, and lost. Of not being able to do anything about it. Come to think about it, Benjamin was scared of a lot of things.

And he knew that everyone else was scared. Rosie, and Kelly, and Lily, and McCready. All of them.

And all of them kept looking at him, like he was meant to know.

Know what to do, when to do it, and how to make things all right again.

He knew animals.

And how to make them better.

Why did they expect him to be able to fix this?

All this human stuff, that hurt people, and was complicated, and long, and didn't really make sense.

How the hell was he meant to understand it, if they couldn't?

And how was he meant to fix all of this?

He had tried to.

He had found Dylan alone in the cold, and he'd held him tight as he could, and he had tried to make it all right.

But it hadn't worked.

Everything was still messed up and hard, and how the hell was that meant to change?

How the hell was he meant to change that?

***break***

He woke up.

Daddy didn't notice, cause he was in the kitchen, trying to hide, cause he was crying. He always hid when he cried, but he never seemed to notice than she saw him every time.

He wasn't very good at hiding.

She could hear the crying from up the stairs, and when Dylan woke up, she could tell he could hear it too.

His face did that thing it always did when he was trying to hide something, and he rolled over again.

Rosie supposed that meant he knew why Daddy was crying.

She couldn't figure it out, same as she couldn't figure out why Dylan was sleeping now, in the middle of the day, or why everyone had been so upset yesterday.

She knew it was bad, anyway, and she knew that something was wrong with Dylan.

Cause Daddy had promised her in the hospital that he was fine, but she figured that maybe he was crying because he was wrong, and Dylan wasn't fine.

He didn't look fine.

He looked tired.

He looked like he was a about to cry.

Which made her feel sad too.

Cause then everyone would be crying.

Cause they were all so sad.

And they wouldn't tell her why.

Maybe they didn't even know why

***A/N**

**IT WAS ROBIN! Ooooohhhhh…**

**Sorry, I write him really bad.**

**I just really think he is such a cool character, and no else seems to care about him. And my favourite WBAZ fic has Robin as a main character, so I felt he needed some time in the spotlight here.**

**Randomly, the above fic is called 'Is he Real?' and it's by **I Have a Paper Heart**. Look at this, free advertising!**

**Thanks to **Anonymous **for your two reviews! You guys are going to make me have a big head, telling me I'm amazing all the time! Thanks so much, hun.**

StripedFuzySocks **you are amazing too. And so helpful, and always right when I need it! Thanks a million times!**

The hazel-eyed bookworm **I updated! And I'm sorry about that storm. Bad timing, oopps! (Also, its hydrophobic ; ) )**

Crazy Person **I'm so glad you like it. It's nice to know that people do.**


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